Tired of the Tanking

The NBA has a serious problem with its current system of "awarding" teams to blatantly lose games, at paying fans expense.  The Philadelphia 76ers, who now are benefiting from this charade are exhibit A for why teams are doing it.  Never mind that for over three years, that team literally stole money from the fans in Philadelphia and around the country (television).  Tanking is a problem and here is a possible solution to that problem.

1. There will need to be a more "balanced" schedule.  I don't believe that it should be completely balanced, but I would add one more game each year vs teams of the opposite conference, alternating each year who gets two "home" games.

2. Playoff seeding should be done by overall record for the league, not just the conference.  Appropriate tiebreakers can be put in place to dictate who the final spot goes to.  This ensures the best 16 teams make the playoffs, regarding of down times for respective conferences.

3. The non-playoff teams will then be seeded as the playoff seeds and have a set of 3-game series in which the winning team advances to the next round.  The team that has the higher seed gets the first two games of the series at their arena and if the series goes to a third game, it would only then go to the lower seeds arena. This would continue where all teams continue to play for "ping pong ball" seeding until a "winner" is had.  This eliminates the incentive to "tank" because getting the home court advantage, even for a round or two, is valuable.  The "winner" from this tourney would get 30 balls, second place would get 28 balls, third place would get 26 balls, down to the "last place" who would get only 2 balls.

This system would bring in more revenue for the teams (which would be split 50/50 with the players), while giving the teams something to play for in terms of making their teams better for the future.  This entire "tournament" could be done in three weeks and not drug out for two months like the NBA playoffs are.  Perfect system?  No!  Infinitely better than what is currently in place?  Well, I'd like your thoughts.

The 10 Best Players In NBA History

We've just finished the NBA Finals for the 2016-2017 season and invariably, the topic of "greatest" or "GOAT" comes up.  This year, we had three players that at one point in time, may or may not end up in the discussion for greatest player of all time (one player, LeBron James, is already a part of this discussion, while the other two, Steph Curry, and more likely, Kevin Durant, are closing in on those types of accolades).  I'm not a "geezer" by any stretch, but I do know my basketball and have watched it religiously now for almost 40 years.  I have read many books, watched countless hours of video, listened to "grizzled" old timers such as Bob Ryan, Frank Deford (RIP), and others "wax eloquent" about the players before my time and I have come up with my definitive list (ha!) of top 10 players of all time in the NBA.  Personally, I believe six of my top ten are inarguable.  If you are against them, it is personal and not reasoned IMO.  Four others though, can be interchanged with a member or two of the list at the end of this post.  One other note before we dig in is the fact that I only have one Boston Celtic in my top 10.  There's something that feels "wrong" about that, but I can't/won't justify putting a player like Russell in the top 10 because he was the "greatest winner".  His greatness is unquestioned, but I don't believe he is a top 10 player of all time.   For what it's worth, here we go:

10. Hakeem Olajuwon

This pains me to put him here, because truth be told, I was/am a huge David Robinson fan.  What Hakeem did to the Admiral during the playoffs in the mid-90's was something to behold.  It was "other-worldly" in many ways.  His footwork, his body control, his unstoppable turn around jumper, his defense, the entire game was there and nobody did it better.  I know many people believe that Michael Jordan's Bulls teams would have 8 straight championships if he didn't take his baseball hiatus, but I for one, don't believe this to be the case.  Those Houston teams had a ton of weapons to make the Bulls life miserable and the Bulls would have had a devil of a time contending with Hakeem at the height of his abilities.  I wish with all of my heart that Jordan wouldn't have taken those two years off, because I would have loved to see what would have happened.  The Dream was the best center in an era where there were some great centers in the league with Robinson, Shaq, Ewing, Daugherty, 'Zo, etc.  His game was truly special to behold.

9. Julius Erving

The "forgotten man" in my opinion when people talk about greatest of all time.  Dr. J's magic on the court was transcendent and revolutionary for the league.  His game alone, kept basketball remotely "relevant" during a decade in which professional basketball did everything it could to alienate itself from the paying public at large.  Who can ever forget the red, white and blue ball being palmed gracefully by a majestic and handsome man with a full-blow afro and having said ball dunked over any number of great players of that era?  If not for Dr. J's transcendence, the era of Magic and Bird may never have had the opportunity to come into being the way it did.  Erving won 3 championships (2 ABA, 1 NBA) and without question is one of the most gifted players to ever play the game. An interesting DYK: Dr. J was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1972.  If he would have gone there, he would have been teamed up with Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Oscar Robertson.  Yikes!!!!

8. Wilt Chamberlain

I don't like having him in my top 10.  There, I said it.  I will stick by my decision to put him in the top 10, but it's not without great reservation doing so.  I've seen the numbers (what sports fan hasn't?)  I've heard the stories (again, who hasn't?).  The reality is, I've also SEEN the video.  Wilt played the lion share of his career vs players that were a full half-foot and more smaller than him.  He did dominate them and that's exactly the reason he is on this list.  Wilt can't change when he was born or who he played again, I get that.  But, is there ANYONE who believes that if he played vs Jabbar, Walton, Lanier, Cowens, Reed, etc. from the 70's or Olajuwon, Ewing, Robinson, etc. from the 80's or Shaq and 'Zo from the 90's that he'd be anywhere near the mythical creature he is now?  50 points a game?  25 rebounds a game?  A bazillion otherworldly stats also bolster his resumé, but the reality is that Wilt's dominance, however incredible it was, is skewed in my mind's eye.  Sorry big guy, your 20,000 doesn't mean anything here either.

7. Tim Duncan

I could make an argument for this man to be a top 5 player of all time easily.  His steady had, his dominance over an entire generation, albeit quietly, is one of the great careers this sport has ever known.  I wrestled with who should be higher on this list, Kobe or Timmy D, and I could be convinced with either, but Duncan's steady hand, his deft touch around the basket, his defense, his calming presence were all a thing to behold.  I've heard many "talking heads" complain about him being "boring", to that I say: "give me the boring and I'll also take the championships that come along with it."

6. Kobe Bryant

Maybe the most polarizing figure on this list (only LeBron comes close), Kobe's greatness on the court comes with his fair share of naysayers as well.  The reality is this though, Kobe Bryant was a basketball assassin who really didn't care what you thought of him or his game, for his only concern was destroying your will on the court.  The stretch in February, 2003 showed the world that he was no "second fiddle" to anyone, not even the great Shaquille O'Neal.  People like to give Shaq all the credit for those three championships, but without Kobe's relentless defense and unreal scoring ability, those teams don't win those championships.  Shaq played on great teams in Orlando and couldn't get the job done.  It wasn't until Kobe was his partner, that Shaq's place in history was solidified as "champion".  I could write more on this guy, but I'll leave it be.

5. Larry Bird

The two players I "hated" most as a fan of the NBA are the next two on my list.  As a young person who was a HUGE Lakers fan and maybe even bigger Magic Johnson fan, I could not stand Larry Legend.  Nevermind that everything about his game was something that I loved and appreciated.  It didn't matter.  He was great AND he played for the Celtics, the loathsome, hated Celtics, with whom I wanted to lose every single game they ever played.  Larry's greatness is beyond words.  Even today, when I watch his "highlight" clip on YouTube, I can't help but be in awe of how great he was.  He was a brilliant scorer.  He was an extremely intuitive player. He had the uncanny ability to make the right play at the right time, almost every time.  It's only towards the end of his career and well after that I fully understood what I was watching all those games on CBS, true basketball greatness in action.

4. LeBron James

Ahh, the "king".  This self-annoited moniker is partially the reason that LBJ drives me and so many others crazy.  LeBron James is undeniably a GREAT basketball player.  His intellect and physical prowess are off the proverbial charts.  There is nobody that can take away from his career accomplishments, no matter how much I'd love to do so.  With that though, I do feel there is a certain "stat stuffer" mentality with LBJ though.  Not really caring what Vegas says, LBJ has been on a team the past 7 seasons where there has been MINIMUM of three All Stars on each of those teams and still has a losing record in the Finals.  Why is that?  I don't have all the answers, but something tells me if LBJ was Kobe, Duncan, Jordan, Hakeem, and a host more, he'd have more than three rings (which by the way is nothing to sneeze at).  Sometimes it "feels" to me that he'd rather have people say "LeBron did all he can do, look at his numbers" rather than taking the proverbial bull by the horns and willing his team to victory.  Reality is this, the refs NEVER call LBJ fairly.  How many times does LBJ ever have ever 3 fouls in a game?  20% of the time, tops!!!  With that knowledge, he can do whatever he wants on a court and should have done so to seal a few more titles under his belt.

3. Magic Johnson

I want so badly to put Ervin "Magic" Johnson at the #1 position on this list, but my intellectual honesty gets in the way.  Magic Johnson's greatness (like so many truly great players) can't always be told by "numbers".  There are many players whose "numbers" far exceed Magic's, but none of them, save maybe a couple, have had more of an impact on the basketball court than Magic did.  He was clutch when it was needed most.  He wanted to win more than anything else and did whatever it took to make that happen.  Magic Johnson is absolutely the reason I love basketball today.  His smile, his infectious nature, his skill was everything I wanted as a young person.  To think that he was robbed a few years off the tail end of his prime is sad to me.  Not sure if anything would have changed in terms of his ranking on this list, but if, and that is a big if, IF he could have made one more Finals appearance and vanquished the mighty Michael Jordan, who knows, their positions may have been switched.

2. Michael Jordan

MJ was an absolute "force of nature" on the basketball court.  His desire to dominate you and your entire being could be felt through the television.  His talent and ethic were so far above the rest of the league, that it sometimes felt helpless to try to compete against him.  My favorite Jordan moment of all time without question was NOT when he wore his famous #23, but rather when he was wearing #45, shortly after his return from his baseball hiatus.  It was a game vs the New York Knicks, nationally televised, and it was DEFINITELY "must see TV" in my home.  I couldn't wait for the game to start and when it did, it was something to behold.  MJ, after almost two years off and just a few games back, dropped a "double nickel" on their biggest rivals at the time.  It's still one of the greatest games I've ever witnessed and it had NOTHING to do with playoffs or championships.  I don't need to defend MJ's spot on this list, for his legion of fans can/will do so on a regular basis.

1. Kareem Abdul Jabbar

There is one fundamental flaw in people's assessment of Jabbar's career, they seems to "forget" about the decade of the 1970's, where he was so dominant, that it's virtually breathtaking.  I believe that the issues surrounding professional basketball during this decade has much to do with that amnesia, but it has cost KAJ in the GOAT conversation.  Take a few moments and check out KAJ's numbers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_Abdul-Jabbar.  They are amazing.  Let's not forget that Kareem's (then Lew Alcindor) Freshmen squad defeated the defending National Champion UCLA Bruins team in a scrimmage (Freshmen weren't allowed to play on the varsity squad back then) and the reason was that Alcindor dominated the game.  This man won 6 NBA Championships, 6 MVP's, and has numbers that can make any grown man weep, he should absolutely be a part of the GOAT discussion.

Invariably on a list such as this, there are going to be players that are left off, and in many cases, a legitimate argument could be made for why they should be included.  I've made a list of truly great players who just fall short of top 10 status.  Obviously, you could easily justify Shaq's presence on this list as well as the "logo", Jerry West.  But, I'll leave that for you to decide.  What is your top 10?  Who did I clearly "miss" and am crazy for including them?  Are you a Jordan or LBJ as #1 guy?  Why?

Honorable Mention Greats: Jerry West, Shaquille O'Neal, Bill Russell, Moses Malone, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Isaiah Thomas, David Robinson, Dirk Nowitzki, Gary Payton, Scottie Pippen, Rick Barry, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Dwyane Wade, Clyde Drexler, Kevin Durant, Allen Iverson, Steph Curry, Kevin McHale, Clyde Frazier, Patrick Ewing, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Pete Maravich, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, James Worthy, Reggie Miller, Jason Kidd, Dominique Wilkins, Bernard King, David Thompson, Grant Hill, George Gervin, and more...

20 things that make me go "Hmm...."

As I go through life, there are things that I encounter that make me stop and think, "Hmm, why is that?" I often vacillate between many different thoughts on a single issue and like to talk about them to people who are willing to have open, non-judgmental conversations.  I'm curious if there are any things that make you stop and go "Hmm."  Let me know.

1. All the anti-Trump Republican supporters will fall in line with Trump and all the anti-Hillary Democrat supporters will fall in line with Hillary in November.  Hmm...

2. You "claim" to be all about "free-speech" and your "freedom of expression", but the second someone posts something that opposes your way of thinking, derogatory labels are flung everywhere.  Hmm...

3. If living in America is so bad, why do 100,000's of people risk their very lives to live here? Hmm...

4. If the U.S. Government can put me in jail for not paying my taxes or for spending money that I will never have, why can't we tell them they need to work under the same parameters? Hmm...

5. If the U.S. Military is so despised around the world, why don't we contract it, bring our troops closer to home, and focus those monies our our deteriorating infrastructure? Hmm...

6. Under our current structure, what is the incentive for someone to ween themselves off of government entitlements?  Hmm..

7. Regardless of one's moral base, religious beliefs, or political stance, should we really be policing what consenting adults do in their own homes?  Hmm...

8. When we have Fox News (Red), MSNBC (Blue), CNN (Blue), Networks (Blue), why can't there be one truly "objective" news source for people to watch? Hmm...

9.  Do we really need political commentary showcased during our sports programming?  Aren't we are already inundated with it enough OUTSIDE of our sports.  Hmm...

10. Does a football player, under the immense, "white hot" glare of the media today, have the right to sue a football league for "damages" occurred by playing the game? Hmm...

11. Have we as a society completely fused the terms "celebrity" and "greatness" to mean the same thing?  Hmm...

12. Do you think the country would be better off if A) Congress got 12 year term limits, B) A President gets one 5-year term, and C) They all (Congress and President) lose their jobs the following year if they do not pass a balanced budget?  Hmm...

13. Shouldn't we really be thinking about desalination plants on the west coast to deal with potential water resource issues, instead of worrying about NIMBY?  Hmm...

14. Shouldn't a politician be forced to resign their position if they are running for another office, other than the one they currently occupy?  Hmm...

15. Why does a screen writer feel the need to change major points of a beloved novel?  They purchased the rights of the novel because the story was already good.  Hmm...

16. Is today's music really as wretched as I "think" it is, or am I just becoming an "old geezer?"  Hmm...

17. Should the tax code be revamped in a way that the average voter could understand it, thus making it easier to be sure "everyone (individual and company alike) is paying 'their fair share'?"  Hmm...

18. Shouldn't owners of sports teams be required to pay for at least 50% of all stadium construction AND share the same split with the local municipality the revenues earned from concessions during those events?  If a team wants it all, they can have it, but they will need to pay for the entire construction cost.  Hmm...

19. If everyone recognizes the value of both physical movement and music, why are they becoming more and more scarce in our schools?  Hmm...

20. Whether you're an atheist, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, or whatever, would it really hurt for us to follow Jesus' command to "Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another"?  Hmm...

What says you?

Wait a minute here....

The punch!  We've all seen it a hundred times or more since it happened a few days ago.  Rougned Odor absolutely clocked Jose Bautista in what is usually a faux brawl where a player feels "disrespected" by another and they start yelling and cursing at one another until the Calvary arrives "to save the day."  On the surface, no big deal.  Nobody was seriously hurt.  Odor looks "big and bad" because he sucker punched Bautista (yes, it was a suck punch because those confrontations NEVER involve actual punches) and Bautista gets kudos because he has proven a better chin than most boxers and MMA fighters out there.  He took the punch "heard round the world" and was still standing afterwards.

Not the point though.  I personally am NOT happy with the coverage of this punch.  All the accolades that have been given, by players, fans, and media is frankly bothersome to me.  Let me play out a couple of "What If" scenarios here:

1. What if Bautista was truly knocked out (a real possibility with a punch thrown like that) and possibly fractured his skull?  How would the media and players have received this then?  Please keep in mind, this ALL stems from a ridiculous retaliation from a bat flip.  Yes, a stupid bat flip at the end of an emotional playoff game.  How would you all feel then?  Now some of my "tough guy" peeps out there will be like: "I wouldn't feel any different.  Just desserts, blah, blah, blah."  Yup, until it is either A) your player or B) YOU!!!!

2. What if this would have been two NBA players?  What would the narrative have been then?  Is there ANYONE out there that believes the narrative would have been the same?  Stop kidding yourself!!!!  Baseball has long gotten away with things that other sports, in particular, the NBA would NEVER get away with, and frankly, that needs to stop.

Odor needs to be suspended severely, hopefully, sending a message that this type of boorish behavior is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.

What says you?

The Power of Sports

Sports.  I have learned in my life that there are three topics that bring out the passion of an individual almost immediately; politics, religion, and sports.  What about sports makes us care so much?  Why do we care about when a person hits a ball 400 feet or a man runs 85 yards towards a pre-determined line that has a quantitative value placed upon it?  Why do I get excited every 4 years to watch a man run 100m in less than 10s?  Why do I care that a man can  a distance of almost 20 feet while slamming an orange orb into a circular/conical apparatus made of iron and nylon?  I think I've narrowed this down to three areas: Community, Escapism, and Appreciation.  Let's talk about each of this in more detail.

Community-Last year, I had the experience of taking my family to a Pittsburgh Steeler game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA.  It was a perfect autumn night, a definite chill in the air, crisp and clean to say the least.  After a wonderful day in the "Steel City", it was time for the game.  We made our way to the stadium and the feeling was amazing.  There were literally thousands of people there who felt about the Steelers as our family did, we loved them.  They were "our team" and we lived and breathed with all that they did.  It was a fascinating venue in that during those 4+ hours, we engaged with, conversed with, high-fived with, cheered with, groaned with, and ultimately exited with literally dozens and dozens of people that we never met before in our lives, nor ever would see again in our lives and yet, we felt as if we knew them all along during the process.  How does this happen?

When we attach ourselves to a team, whether it the Steelers, Pirates, Lakers, etc., we are in fact, attaching ourselves to a group of "fellow believers" if you will.  We will drink the proverbial "Kool-Aid"  (BTW, this would be another great topic to get into at a later date) and defend this team, its players, and ultimately the organization at large, no matter what.  Our team/player does wrong?  Somehow, we justify it, because of..............., no matter how non-sensical it sounds.  All we need to do is look at a few examples: The Patriots (their fans think they are as innocent as the Sisters of the Holy Family Convent), ARod (But he has paid his debt to baseball by being suspended for a year), Kobe Bryant (She should have never gone up those backstairs to his room), University of Miami (come on, you know that EVERYONE else does the exact same thing), Ben Roethlisberger (You know, he never was 'charged' with anyone on this) and the list goes on and on.  Because the teams and players are "ours", we will go above and beyond to defend them, well beyond any reason whatsoever.  We are part of this together.

The bond is strong and it is very real.   People who don't appreciate sports, just don't, nor will they ever understand.  That's OK.  We prefer it that way, for we don't want any "wishy washy" people on our squad, do we?

Escapism-Our lives are very difficult.  Many of us work extremely hard to make "ends meet" and we need something to take our minds off the "troubles of this world".  Let's face it, the world has lots of problems and it is nice to escape those problems from time to time.  When we get together with friends and family, we can talk heavy for a while, but then it feels oppressive and ultimately, not very satisfying.  Then our attention turns towards sports and voila, time breezes by and an energy exists that just wasn't prevalent before.  We talk with vigor about last night's game and how the umpire was clearly "on the take" because he was squeezing our pitcher.  We state with absolutes of how our team will "crush" the opposing team next game they play.  Our minds race with the possibilities of what would happen if the team wins and also with what would happen if they did the opposite, "get cheated" out of a victory.

When we attend our High School games on Friday nights, put on our favorite college gear on weekends, or wear our favorite athletes number with pride during the week, we are stating that these teams, these players, allow us an opportunity to escape the reality of our lives for a few short hours and to join in on something that is "bigger" than what we are dealing with at that time.  When a player does something great, we shout with great enthusiasm, when a player gets hurt, we are genuinely locked into their well-being, not even caring about our own issues at that moment.  Sports allows us to draw from other aspects in this world that aren't directly affecting my circumstances, but rather, on the contrary, are entirely disassociated from them.  For that, we are grateful.

Appreciation-Who doesn't appreciate an athlete's body?  Their talent?  Their energy? Their skill?  Having played sports my entire life and knowing how hard I had to work to get as good (or bad) as I was, I can only appreciate more what these men and women must do to push their bodies to the physical limits they endure.  I remember the exhilaration that I felt when Michael Johnson ran with his gold shoes, that 200m sprint in Athens.  I remember as if it were yesterday when Michael Jordan dropped "double nickel" on the Knicks in his "comeback".  I still shudder when I think of the home run that Albert Pujols hit in Houston vs the Astros in the playoffs.  I wonder, did that ball ever come down?  I remember vividly how upset I felt when Steffi Graf won all four Grand Slams AND the gold medal in 1988 ( I was a huge Gabriella Sabatini fan at the time), but realized that I had seen something truly "special".  I remember all these things because I truly appreciate how great those feats were/are.  This has nothing to do with money or salary, but everything to do with physical attributes pushed to limits that virtually none of us can comprehend, and yet we get to partake in it by viewing it in action.  I look forward to seeing what the human body does in the future, not only in the sports I love, but in other sports that I don't have a "passion" for, but still appreciate those who are involved with.

What says you?

Welcome!

Welcome to a new blog where we will delve into a wide range of topics such as books, sports, religion, politics, burgers, education, movies, music, and whatever else comes down the line.  The topics selected will be done so to give insight, elicit conversation, and to make one think about something a little differently than maybe they have in the past.  The name of this blog comes from a great movie, Cool Hand Luke, that I would have never watched if not for two things: A Guns and Roses song called "Civil War" and my  father, who knows much and is always espousing the virtures of "the classics" in many things.  I love the quote and frankly, love the movie as well.  If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor, and watch it soon.  The quote though, "what we have here is, a failure to communicate" is one that I have recited many times walking down the hallways of the school I once taught at, Huntingdon Valley Christian Academy.  When I spoke those words, it was because someone; a student, a teacher, a parent, etc. failed to communicate something that was of importance, that would have made life just a little better, a little more enjoyable, if you will.  That is what I want this blog to do; explore things that makes life just a little better, a little more enjoyable because you have partaken in it.

Discussion and dialogue on this blog will be kept respectful at all times.  I reserve the right to delete any comments or users who may not be upholding the standard that is being set; treat others with the same respect and dignity as you would want them to treat you with.

Without further adieu, let's begin.  I look forward to a good time and a stretching of my thinking, and I hope yours is stretched as well.